Archive for the ‘Ohio’ Category

Washington Court House, a small city 40 miles southwest of Columbus, recently tried to do the unthinkable (or maybe it isn’t in light of what has happened in Columbus and D.C.) On a 4-2 vote, their city council passed a bill that banned smoking while kids were in your vehicle.

But yesterday, council scrapped that bill after two members of council decided to change their minds on their ‘yes’ vote. Was it because they felt guilty that they over stepped their bounds as legislators? Did they feel that the legislation was wrong?

No to both. According to Councilman Ben Roby:

… says he decided to drop his support for the ban because he found more “public interest” in the proposal than he ever expected.

This is hilarious. What he means by ‘public interest’ is that he didn’t expect people to pay attention to what they were doing, so he thought he could vote for it and not worry about any backlash!

A spokesman from Strickland’s office countered her complaint with a memo:

Wurst produced a memo showing that during a June 2007 meeting with Taylor’s office, budget officials suggested ways to help reduce delays with the 2008 audit that other states had experienced when they moved to a new accounting system.

Which makes me wonder: if they have been looking into this since June of 2007, why are they over two months late?

is a website made for political junkies and I’ve been following it for the last 10 years. If you need to find the offical office and campaign website for federal and state candidates or parties, this is the site for you.

PALIN. “We are going to seek and … destroy this candidacy of Sarah Palin’s because of what it is that she represents,’ is how the Alaska Governor now described the national media’s reaction to her Vice Presidential candidacy last year. In a new documentary, Palin discusses how she believes a conspiracy took place among members of the media to undermine her candidacy.

Really? I mean, really? Look, as valid and as acknowledged the point that the media was in the bag for Obama and they did not care for her, I would not call it a “conspiracy”. If anyone destroyed her candidacy. it was her. She was out of her league, and this was proven in the VP debates. Hell, she would not have been in the equation if McCain picked who he really wanted and selected Lieberman. This makes her look petty and paranoid. If I had the ear of the governor, I would tell her to go back to Alaska, kick butt for the rest of her term, get re-elected and take on Begich so she can get some experience in dealing with DC.

Also:

P2012. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is strongly leaning towards making a second run for President in 2012. Romney is already lending financial support to several Republican US House members targeted by the DCCC. Romney is already planning to make the rounds in support of these candidates as part of his efforts to lay the groundwork for a 2012 run.

Mitt, I like you now. You have grown on me. But 2012 is for this guy and I, along with many other Republcians fully support him.

According to an article from yesterday’s Dispatch, Massachusetts is looking at a more “efficient” way to tax their citizens by adding GPS trackers on cars in the state and tax by mile. Since greener cars have become more popular, gas tax revenues have gone down. So instead of living within their means (like millions of citizens do everyday), they will find another way to stick it to the taxpayer.

How soon before the states mentioned in the article are found to have over-taxed their citizens?

It’s official: Jennifer Brunner is running for the Democratic nomination to be Ohio’s next US Senator.

This is good, for two reasons:

1. Whomever leaves this primary will be bloodied and bruised, making the race a little easier for Rob Portman.

I’m not saying that this will guarantee victory for the GOP, but there is a reason why party leadership hates primaries like this one. Look at 2006. In the race for the US Senate on the Democratic side, Paul Hackett was gearing up for a run, but Sherrod Brown got enough support from party insiders to keep him at bay. Brown then had the momentum (and more importantly, the money) to beat incumbent Mike DeWine. In the race to succeed Gov. Taft, on the GOP side you had Blackwell, Petro, and Montgomery. Then-Ohio GOP Chair Bob Bennett tried to avoid a primary, but all three were bent on running. The “victor”, Blackwell, was damaged and broke and was routed by Ted Strickland.

There are some, like Jill from Writes Like She Talks, makes some good points for Mary Taylor to enter the race, but for the reasons stated above and next I completely disagree.

2. This improves our shot at getting control of Apportionment Board.

A legitimate argument has been made that the AB does not matter since the Democrats won the Ohio House in spite of the districts being drawn by Republicans. However, the AB not only draws the Ohio General Assembly districts, but also Congress. This could mean a more hospitable district in the 1st for Steve Chabot, or the 13th for Mary Taylor. If Brunner stays in, there is talk that Cuyahoga Co. Prosector Bill Mason could run for Secretary of State, a thought that amuses me. If ODP Chair Chris Redfern is smart, he will avoid Cuyahoga Democrats like the plague, as that is a race that Jon Husted would be a favorite in. A Husted win would definitely give us the AB back, as I believe that Mary Taylor will win a little easier this time.

I loved the “apology” that came from a blogger known as “Plunderbund”:

Eric Vessels, whose blog is Plunderbund, apologized for the mistake, but defended posting what he thought was the photographer’s number.

“I want people to think before they do these kinds of disruptions,” he said. “I don’t intend people to call and harass. I don’t ever ask them to do that.”

And one of the biggest antagonists that the Ohio liberal blogosphere has to offer, Tim Russo of Blogger Interrupted, had no comment.

I saw the video; the guy was annoying and dumb. If I were at a McCain event and some 9-11 Truthers jeered, I would be pissed. But guess what? That is our right as Americans and that guy had a right also, especially since it’s obvious the Obama campaign will give credentials to anyone!

What that guy did, however, did not warrant the posting of personal info. How would some of those bloggers feel if a conservative posted their info?

This is why access should be limited to this info. When you give idiots this ability and freedom to get NOYB info, they do dumb things with it and an innocent person gets harassed.

BTW, those offending bloggers should personally contact this guy and apologize.

This will be a close race, but Stivers will win. I’ve seen him up close on the campaign trail and he can connect with voters as well or better than anyone. I don’t think that Eckart guy will do much or any damage to Steve.

Conservatives, especially when faced with the thought of ending Mary Jo’s career, will definitely support Stivers.

“We’re not furthering our culture by arming everybody…..when you leave your house, go out in public and have to arm yourself, what message is that giving our kids?”

And what would a topic about gun rights be without OSU rag The Lantern getting involved using fear-mongering to make their point:

Here is a campus activity, complete with all the alcohol, adrenaline and testosterone that can be expected during a pre-Michigan November dive into sub-freezing waters, in which, should an altercation break out, bullets might replace fists. This would certainly be a worst-case scenario to allowing those with concealed-carry permits to arm themselves on campus.

What is humorous about the Lantern article is that they even admitted that there is a chance that allowing students to carry guns could protect them. Franklin County Sheriff Steve Martin practically answers their fears by saying there were no incidents involving those with conceal carry permits.

The reality is, the majority of gun owners treat their constitutional right with respect and learn how to handle their guns. It’s the troublemakers that make life difficult. To answer Ms. Hoover, being armed means that you decrease your chance to become a victim. If you are a responsible gun owner with kids, you will teach them to respect that weapon and how to use it properly.

I believe that these ‘gun-free’ zones leave students to be sitting ducks. In the V-Tech and NIU tragedies, armed students could have stopped them before it happened. The tide of support is slowly growing to reverse it, but the misguided and naive views of people like Hoover and The Lantern will lead the fight against it.

Regardless, I’m glad to see that Ohioans are still exercising their constitutional right with obtaining permits.